Remote Homesteading:

As I have posted before, we moved to N. Carolina from 9,800' elevation in S. Colorado. We received (according to HUD) 264" of snow each year, fortunately not all at the same time. Our winters were sometimes 6-7 months long. Our nearest neighbor was one mile down the road. We lived there for over 26 years full time and heated our cabin with a woodstove. We burned anywhere between 9-12 cords of firewood each winter. 

That being said we worked hard all year long and while it was stuck in the back of our mind that someday we might have to move somewhere else, that was less strenuous. It always remained hidden in the back of our minds none the less. We had seen others move to our community and not be able to handle the weather conditions or the strain of that type of life. Few made it as long as we did. 

Two and a half years ago we came to the conclusion that we couldn't continue with that type of lifestyle any longer. It was necessitated by medical reasons. Prior knee injuries made it so mobility was more and more severe coupled with other unrelated issues. It was hard to leave our homestead that we had put so much labor into, but it was also evident that medical treatment was over a one-hour drive away and we were not getting any younger. 

One had to be self-sufficient to live our chosen lifestyle and there were not adequate services around to take over the responsibility of things we were used to doing ourselves. So now we need to sit by, and watch others do what we are used to doing ourselves.  It was hard to leave our mountain homestead, but I think it is even harder to have others do what we were used to doing ourselves.